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A programming language designed to enhance the capabilities
of web pages. The brainchild of netscape,
Javascript is a relative of c++ but is designed for completely different
tasks and is much easier to learn. It should not be confused with Java.
Its main purpose is to help a web browser do things that are
beyond the scope of pure html, such as popping up special windows in
response to mouse clicks or displaying messages in its status bar.
Many Javascript applications on the web are decidedly trivial, but
it has some powerful features and forms a central part of dhtml. It
is used to create many of the "live" effects seen on web pages. Other common
uses include checking web forms for completeness before returning them to
the server and changing the colour of text blocks when the mouse pointer
passes over them. Its most visible and annoying use is in displaying
pop-up advertising. |
